


Idle Talk

by scatter



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Gen, Implied Relationships, Late Night Conversations, Protectiveness, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-13
Updated: 2012-04-13
Packaged: 2017-11-03 13:37:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/381904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatter/pseuds/scatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adachi and Yosuke have a late night conversation in Souji's kitchen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Idle Talk

Adachi knew this was going to be interesting when someone other than Souji opened the door to the Dojima residence.

It wasn't his idea to stop by the house, but he wasn't exactly in a position to refuse. Souji hadn't been by the hospital in a couple of days and Dojima, still feeling guilty of hauling him off for questioning and leaving Nanako home alone, was starting to worry. The stress meant he wasn't able to focus on healing like he was supposed, and just when Adachi thought he'd fight the nurses off and make the trek to to the house himself, he'd surprised him by asking Adachi to check in on Souji. He'd been tempted to refuse, not wanting to be bothered with some kid, but he supposed it was the least he could do. It sure as hell wasn't his fault that all this had happened but he still felt bad that the Dojima family had gotten involved the way they had. It'd never been in his plans for Nanako to get hurt.

And, to be truthful, he was a little curious as to how Souji was taking all of this.

So here he was, at an hour when he'd rather be in bed, waiting for someone to answer. He was just about to give up and risk facing Dojima's temper the next day when a light finally clicked on in the window and someone on the other side of the door asked, "Who is it?"

That hadn't been Souji's voice. "Adachi. Dojima-san's partner?"

The door cracked open, just enough for him to make out a kid with unkempt hair. It took Adachi a second to recognize him. "Hey," he said, making sure to smile, "you're Souji-kun's friend, right? The one from Junes?"

"Yosuke," the kid said, looking slightly annoyed. He looked tired, too, like he'd been laying down or maybe sleeping and Adachi had woken him up.

"Right! I knew it was something like that." He had, more or less. "Is Souji-kun around?"

"Why? You need him for something?"

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't," Adachi said lightly. Yosuke didn't smile. To be honest, he didn't seem much pleased to see Adachi, and the way he crowded the doorway gave the impression he was about to close it in his face. "Dojima-san wanted me to check on him, make sure he's doing okay. Actually, do you mind if we talk about this inside? It's kind of cold out here."

Yosuke didn't move. "It's a little late for that. Couldn't you have come earlier?"

"It would have been nice, but I had work to take care of and I wasn't sure he'd even be home. He has to be now, it's too late for him to be anywhere else. Look, you can call Dojima-san up if you don't trust me, but could you make it fast? I'm freezing." He shivered, only partially for effect.

Yosuke hesitated but finally stepped aside and let him in. "Sorry," he said, as Adachi removed his shoes, glad to be out of the wind, "sort of jumpy. Do you really think it's a good idea to be knocking on doors this late?"

"What's wrong with--oh, right." Adachi laughed sheepishly. "Sorry about that, but there's no reason to be worried anymore. We caught the guy, remember?"

"That's not the point," Yosuke said, frowning, and looking even more put out at the intrusion.

"Eh, fair enough." Pretending not to notice Yosuke's impatience, Adachi took a moment to look around the room. It was the same as ever, of course, but it was a big house; he didn't want to imagine what it must feel like to suddenly be alone in it. Miserable, most likely. "Speaking of Souji-kun, where is he?"

"Sleeping," Yosuke said shortly. "Now why'd Dojima-san send you over?"

"Well, Souji-kun hasn't been by the hospital in a day or two, and Dojima-san's starting to get worried. He sounds like he's holding up well, all things considered, but you can never be sure until you see someone in person. Dojima-san can't leave the hospital, of course, so he asked me to stop by and make sure he's alright."

"He's fine," Yosuke said.

"Oh, I'm sure he is, but since I'm here anyway..." Seeing Yosuke's continued hesitance, he added, "Unless there's some reason I shouldn't see him?"

"Like what?" The insinuation did it; he didn't look happy, but he gestured to the stairs. "He's up there. Don't wake him up."

"Wouldn't dream of it." The way he was behaving, Adachi wouldn't be surprised to find out he'd done something crazy like kill Souji. He hoped not. Dojima would find a way to make it his fault.

He was only vaguely familiar with the upstairs layout of the house. He'd never had the chance to really look around on the few times he'd come over with Dojima, and he didn't get the chance now. Yosuke walked close behind him, nearly hurrying him along, and he could feel his eyes on his back like an annoying itch.

"That's his room," Yosuke said when they'd reached the top. "Don't go in, alright? Just a quick look."

"I got it, I got it, don't work yourself up," Adachi said, putting his hands up in what he hoped was a calming gesture. The door was already cracked and he opened it up a little more, enough for him to see the inside of Souji's room. Not that he could see much, as dark as it was in there, the curtains closed and no light on. When his eyes adjusted, he made out a bundle in the middle of the room, which he assumed to be Souji.

He started to go in.

Yosuke immediately spoke up. "Hey--"

"Dojima-san wants me to check on him," Adachi said, glancing back. "If I go back and say I came all this way without actually setting eyes on him, he'll be pissed. You want to be the one to tell him you wouldn't let me in?"

It couldn't have been more obvious that Yosuke wanted to stop him, but he bit his tongue and backed down. Adachi hadn't expected any differently. Dojima had that kind of effect on people, even when he wasn't present.

He didn't let Adachi go in alone, though, shadowing him as Adachi did his best not to accidentally knock anything over or stub his toe. There was a work table that looked out of place - maybe Souji'd moved it to make more room in the middle of the floor - and a sofa, a TV on a stand, and a desk in the corner. There were a few errant odds and ends scattered about in a way that reminded Adachi of a few cases he'd worked, the ones where men had their lives fall apart in some way and they no longer saw the worth in cleaning properly, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Souji was managing to hold himself above water, but even with the mess it still verged on being nicer than Adachi's place.

Man, he needed a raise.

Up close he couldn't make out much of Souji's face, which was covered up in blankets to his chin. He'd always been a hard kid to read the times they'd run into each other but with his guard down like this it was easier to get a feel of him. He looked healthy, if tired, and he was breathing fine, with no visible wounds or anything. Alright, so Yosuke hadn't secretly murdered him.

There was an indentation in the blankets that suggested someone else had been laying with him a short while ago. Maybe he'd fucked him, and _that_ was why Yosuke was so eager to see him leave.

Adachi smothered a smile - like he cared what two horny teenagers were up to - and turned back to Yosuke, who was practically on the edge of dragging him out of the room. "He's fine, right?" Yosuke said, waving a hand to the door. "Let's get out, he might wake up."

"It's not fair, spying on him like that," he said when they were back in the hallway and the door was shut tight behind them. Adachi wouldn't have been surprised if he'd locked it.

"I wouldn't call that spying," Adachi argued, but Yosuke was already starting down the stairs. Annoyed, Adachi followed him. "He looked tired."

It was a few seconds before Yosuke answered. "It's getting to him," he mumbled finally. "Nanako-chan and Dojima-san hurt, and he's still got to go to school, and it's not like the entire town doesn't know by now even if no one's talking about it."

Adachi made a sympathetic noise, not pointing out how childish it sounded to complain about school of all things. "That'll wear anyone down. Good thing you're here to watch out for him."

Maybe he'd let something slip in his voice because Yosuke glanced at him sharply. Adachi'd had plenty of practice keep his face blank, though, and he made sure it was open and guileless. "Of course I am."

"You been staying over here a lot, keeping him company? Dojima-san will want to know," he added before Yosuke could say anything.

"Just when he doesn't want to be alone." Yosuke entered the living room and glanced at the TV, where a cushion sat nearby and unused. Adachi got the impression Souji felt that way pretty often lately. "If I can't make it, someone else comes over."

"Nice to have friends. You know, the two kind of remind me of Dojima-san and myself," Adachi said. "Sure, he gets on my nerves sometimes - uh, don't tell him I said that - but when it comes down to it, we look out for each other. From what Dojima-san's told me, you and Souji-kun are pretty close, so I'm sure you understand me."

Yosuke nodded, crossing his arms.

"That's why this Namatame thing is so hard, you know?" Adachi sighed and scratched the back of his neck. It wasn't feigned; thinking about it made him tired. "I can't really do anything about a guy like him. Hard not to feel like I'm letting Dojima-san down a little."

"Namatame..." Yosuke's mouth tightened. "They're still holding him, aren't they? In the hospital?"

"Yeah, they're not getting anything useful out of him, just a lot of nonsense about saving people and TVs, like that makes any sense. Crazy stuff." Adachi paused. "Actually, you know, Souji was saying some crazy stuff when Dojima-san brought him in, too. He wouldn't say what he'd been up to with you all and made up some lie about going into a TV and fighting monsters, can you believe it?"

"What?" Yosuke didn't manage to hide his surprise. Apparently, Souji hadn't bothered filling him in on that little detail.

"It was crazy, let me tell you. Any idea what that was all about?"

Yosuke shrugged and turned his head away, crossing his arms tighter. It came off less as a casual gesture and more like an attempt to shield himself. "No. Maybe he was just pissed off. I'd be. I mean, it's not like he had anything to do with the murders."

"No, of course not." Adachi laughed. "No offense, but I don't see him evading the police for so long even if he had done it. Then again, maybe he'd surprise me. Namatame managed it, after all."

"He's not that kind of guy," Yosuke said with absolute conviction.

"I guess not." Adachi wandered into the kitchen, not in any hurry. Yosuke tried, and failed, not to look like he couldn't wait for him to leave. Adachi pretended not to notice. "But Namatame... I can't get over what he did to Nanako-chan. And landing Dojima-san in the hospital, that's got to be a lot for poor Souji-kun, all of it happening at once. If it were me... I can tell you something, right, man-to-man?"

Yosuke was clearly curious despite himself. "Go ahead," he said slowly.

"If it were me, I don't think I'd be able to just sit by and wait for some cops to try to take care of things, not after all of this. Hell, if I weren't on the force myself I might..." He trailed off, letting Yosuke fill in the blanks himself.

He thought he heard a faint hint of disappointment in Yosuke's voice when he said, "There's no way you'd get away with it."

"Maybe not. But it might be worth it, especially if Nanako-chan actually..." He grimaced, remembering the sight of her little form in the hospital bed earlier that day.

Yosuke flinched, apparently recalling the same thing.

"What I might do," Adachi continued, leaning against the kitchen counter, "and remember this is all hypothetical so don't go telling anyone--"

"I won't," Yosuke said, and then looked ashamed by his own impatience.

"--I might get him to tell me how he'd managed to get the first two up where he did and then I'd do the same thing to him. Why not? If anything's fair, that's it, right?" He waited for an answer.

"I...I don't know." Yosuke shook his head. Like he was trying to convince himself of something, he continued. "Souji'd never do something like that."

"Maybe not," Adachi agreed, getting into it. "Some people don't think like us. Or they do but they don't want to admit it. Take Dojima-san for example. He's always telling me to shut my mouth but half the time that's because I'm saying what he's thinking and he doesn't like hearing it. There are just some things good cops don't talk about, you know, but something like this... Word around the office is that Namatame's gonna end up pleading insanity, get off easy, and maybe be put up in a nice cushy hospital. How's that for fair?"

"It's not."

"Damn straight it's not. After all he's done - killing that reporter, stringing your classmate up, kidnapping those kids, nearly killing Nanako-chan - all he gets is a slap on the wrist?" Adachi shook his head, clearing his throat in disgust. "There's no justice in that. Sometimes you've got to take things into our own hands, do what's got to be done. Dojima-san knows that, but he's too good of a guy. He wouldn't do it on his own, but if I brought it up for him and said I'd take the blame, if he knew I'd have his back..."

Yosuke didn't respond. He was looking towards the stairs, face clouded, body tense as he thought. Adachi doubted he'd hear another word he said. Time to head off then.

He pushed himself away from the counter and glanced at his watch. "I should stop, I doubt you want to hear all of this, and I've still got things to take care of. Let me go ahead and get out of your hair."

Yosuke made a distracted sound, not looking at him.

Adachi saw himself to the door. Yosuke followed belatedly. "I'm gonna see Dojima-san first thing in the morning. I'll let him know you're watching his nephew, put in a good word for you, alright? I think he'll like knowing there's someone he can count on staying here."

"Sure." Yosuke shook his head, trying to refocus. "Thanks."

"No problem. Thanks for listening to me ramble. But, uh, this--" Adachi gestured between them. "--maybe you shouldn't tell Souji-kun I visited. It'd just stress him out if he knew Dojima-san was worried about him, and that'd stress Dojima-san out, and then--"

"I get it," Yosuke said.

"I knew you would. Got to watch out for them, right?" Adachi smiled and didn't step outside until Yosuke smiled back, thin and unsure. "Well, I'm off. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

With the door shut behind him, he took a deep breath and stretched his arms over his head, watching his breath come out white. It'd been nice to blow off some steam and rant a bit, even if it'd just been to a kid, and if he'd said some things that would have gotten him into trouble had the wrong person overheard, well, it wasn't like he'd told Yosuke to go out and _do_ anything. Nothing wrong with making conversation.

Adachi chuckled under his breath and began walking home.


End file.
